Tested
by rubberduck2
Summary: He didn't really care about them; they were only his test rats. Sampled on and tortured until the cure was perfected. But he didn't have a heart of ice, because one girls onyx eyes were the first and only thing that ever had him question what he's doing.
1. Perfect

**I might be taking on too much but this'll be my third still active story, I just have this need to start new stories! Anyway I hope you enjoy:**

Duncans POV:

I put on my goggles and carefully examined the beaker. "Hand me the benzyl cyanide." I said to my assistant Cody. He really is quite a doof but I can't help but feel bad for him.

"Here you go." Cody said as he handed me the chemical.

"Thank you." I took a dropper and ever so carefully tried to add a drop of the chemical into the blue beaker. I focused really hard because more than a drop could lead to a chaotic explosion.

"HEY BOSS!" Cody yelled. I jumped and the beaker almost slipped out of my hand. I scrambled around and luckily it didn't break. "Whoops sorry."

"Its okay," I fumed. "What do you need?"

"Uh...I forgot." I clenched my fist but then released it because I was still holding the beaker full of acidic chemicals.

"Okay, please, give me some space." I said with irritation.

"Sure thing, boss!" Cody tried to salute but he whacked his nose. "Umph!"

"Space?" I repeated.

"Oh, oh right-o, daddy-o."

I rolled my eyes and continued to try and carefully add the substance into the beaker. Slowly, a green drop went into the blue beaker. I sighed a sigh of relief but jumped again when Cody yelled, "Nice going boss!"

"Cody! Keep it down!"

"Right, sorry!" He whispered.

I rubbed my temples due to the growing headache, "Could you please get me subject number..." I looked around the counter top for the clipboard that had the list of subjects. I found it under some test tubes, I licked my finger and flipped through the pages. "Where is the father subject, with a mild case? Oh, there it is, get me number 43."

"I'm on it." Cody went down the elevator to find my subject. We were testing people to find the cure for altransmodulation. My mother had been diagnosed with it. It's beginning to become more common. Altransmodulation is when people start to mutate into creatures, the creature they become depends on who they are, the cause of this is unknown but other scientists are testing rats to find the cure. They are foolish, humans are affected by this, so humans should be tested. My mother is currently trying be cured. They have solutions to get rid of symptoms and some people have even been cured but people are becoming immune to the nonofficial cures so Ive decided to take matters in my own hands.

My mother has a small case, so far the only thing different about her is she has small patches of teal scales, but eventually she'll become a beast and she'll go where all the other beasts go, to the Stray Forest. There are electrical chain-link fences around the forest and meat is dropped in there every few days. Any beasts that escape are immediately killed. Beasts have no trace of human left in them, they become savage.

I have to find this cure before anything happens to my mom, she means too much to me. Just as I was finishing my train of thought I heard Cody and the guards coming up the elevator.

"Let me go! You freaks are sick! Testing on people is immoral!" Subject 43 said.

Cody is too wimpy to bring in the squirmy subjects so I have guards bring them in instead.

"Put him on the testing table, and strap him in, tightly." I ordered.

The testing table was white, as a matter of fact everything in this room was white, the walls, the floors, the counter tops, even my lab coat was a perfect bleach white.

After he was strapped into the table I tilted the table at a 45 degree angle so we could see each other at eye level. "Hello, subject 43."

"We have names you know, we have feelings too." He spat at me.

"Yes, and I have a feeling that your going to be able to help find a cure for my mom."

"I dont care about your mom! Testing on adults is one thing but your testing on kids too. Your a messed up bastard."

"Listen, subject 43, think of it this way testing on you gets me one step closer to finding a cure and not having to test on people anymore, so just shut up because no matter what happens I'm going to inject you with one of my solutions." I snapped at him getting sick of his rebel attitude.

"You do know there are other scientists that are finding a cure in a HUMANE way." This whole time he's had a smug look and he's been giving off an 'alpha-male' aura.

"I'm going to guess that you're the leader of all of the subjects, you're gathering them telling them not to give in to me, saying you guys will get out of here, well if you survive this injection, or if you don't turn into a beast after this injection then you can go tell your little group that no ones leaving until I find a cure."

I looked at his eyes, and they were raging with hate, "You're a wicked man, I can promise you, you will suffer, as long as you do this there will be a punishment, karma's a bitch."

"Yeah, whatever." I said as I rolled my eyes and injected him with what hopefully would be the cure. While I was waiting for his reaction to the chemicals, I looked over at the clipboard so see if I was low on subjects. "Cody?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Go get me a female, about my age."

"Should she be a beast or what?"

"No, I dont want a single trace of beast in her, find me someone really fit and healthy."

"Okey dokey!" And with that he ran off to go get me my test subject.

I got a sheet of paper and started writing down what was happening, "So far no reaction to the chemicals, heart rate is good, temperature is normal, medicine has no affect on patient...wait, what is that?" I looked at the subjects arm and a long row of bumps started to stretch across his arms and legs. He started to twitch and then started to move around violently. I started writing all of this down as fast as I could.

"You did this to me! This is your fault!" Subject 43 yelled as he started to form into a beast.

"Guards hurry take him away before he completely changes." I ordered. They rushed in and quickly carried him away as he started to grow claws and his hair started falling off.

"Your fault! Your fault!" He continued to shout as he was being taken away.

I looked down at my sheet of paper and crumpled it up and threw it in the garbage. I walked over to my whiteboard and wrote down the results, "Possible cure #62 is a failure." I wrote angrily. "Argh!" I shouted as I punched the wall. I pressed my forehead on the wall and breathed heavily.

"Um, boss?"

I looked at the elevator and saw Cody "What is it?" I said angrily.

"I just want to make sure that you approve of the new subject I found." He said timidly. I picked up the coffee that was on my counter top and responded.

"Yes, fine, lets go." I said as I walked quickly to the all glass elevator and headed down to the subject living quarters. "Where did you find her?" I asked as we walked down the hallway. The place where the subjects lived was almost like a prison except the walls were bright white, and their uniforms were white to match everything else. They weren't treated as badly as they get treated in prisons because we needed them healthy for the testing.

Except we need some unhealthy subjects for other tests. There were jail cells on both sides of us and as we walked past people yelled and cussed at us, some even spit.

"Your sick!" Was the most common insult thrown at me.

"Well, we found her jogging in the park, she was stretching and we did a background check on her and she's probably the most perfect in fitness terms and she has excelled academically." Cody explained.

"Hmm, okay where is she?"

"Uh...she should be right in here." Cody said as he sped ahead of me and pointed to the third to last jail cell on the left.

I turned to peer in the jail cell, "Well, where is she-" I dropped my coffee and completely messed up the last word in my sentence.

"What? Is she an okay subject? Her name is Courtney, she had a 5.0 GPA she has no health problems, she uh-" Cody rambled.

"Shut up...she's perfect."

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**I'm really excited for this story! I hoped you liked it and please review! and if it wasnt obvious altransmodulation isnt real lol its a mix between the words alter, transformation and module, which are all words of change or converting into.**


	2. Planting Seeds

**Just a quick A/N the term "Bot" is just how Im gonna shorten robot, I know a lot of people already know that bot is short for robot but i always get confused when people shorten or change worlds like saying 'fughetaboutit' instead of just 'forget about it' AND since altransmodulation is an UBER long word im gonna shorten it to ATM i just wanted to clarify. :) anyway next chappy:**

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She was lying on the white bed in her cell. She looked like she would be out for weeks.

"What did you do to her? She looks exhausted!"

"Uh...well...I just had Bruno hit her with a baseball bat, was that bad?" Cody said shyly. Bruno was one of my body guards, he was huge,stacked and was very capable of squishing people.

"Of course you idiot! Shes a woman not a baseball! Why did you use a bat anyway, I thought I told you that you should only capture subjects with tranquilizers." I said as I crossed my arms impatiently.

"Brunos fingers were too big to hold the tranquilizer and you know I have horrible aim, so knocking her out was the only thing I could think of!"

"Did you ever think of calling in a smaller body guard like Steve to knock her out?" Steve was still big but not nearly as big as Bruno.

"Oh..." Cody replied dumbly. I threw my hands up in the air.

I rested my head on the wall, "You know, sometimes you are so useless! If my mind wasnt so scattered, you would have been fired a long time ago." I paused and looked at Cody. Of course his little puppy dog eyes were hurt. God, sometimes I wish he wasn't so helplessly lovable. "But behind all of that uselessness is a good friend, and someone I can always trust." He perked up and my heart no longer felt like it was breaking. "Now, I'm going to take exactly a 20 minute lunch break. By the time my lunch is over I want Courtney, or as we will now call her, Subject 122, strapped onto my testing table."

"Yes, sir!" Cody said as he saluted.

"Go take a quick break or something, your useless when your hungry."

"How did you know I'm hungry?"

"Are you deaf? Your stomach has been growling nonstop."

"Oh so thats what that sound was..." Cody said.

I rolled my eyes and walked toward the elevator. Before the doors closed Cody saluted me, and feeling bad for the doof, I saluted right back, which caused a goofy grin to spread on his face. I dont know what it was, but his smile actually made me laugh. Sure it was only a short laugh, but I haven't genuinely laughed in the longest time, it was nice. The elevator shot up all the way to the top floor which is where my office was. Actually my office was where I lived, it had my bed, a kitchen , everything. I took off my lab coat and dropped it onto a hook on the coat rack.

My office was just as white as everything else in this building. White couch, walls, etc. One side of my office was made completely out of glass which looked into the barren backyard. The backyard was so empty and depressing, it wasnt a pleasant thing to look at. I walked away from the glass wall and headed into the kitchen. I held my hand out over one of the counter tops and asked for my usual drink, "Coffee." And instantly a nice hot coffee popped up from the counter top just like I asked.

My house was very high tech. anything I wanted I got upon request. "Bot?"

"Yes, Mr. Malone?"Bot replied. Bot was just a voice, I couldnt actually see the robot, but it provided for whatever I asked. It was like in the old movie Smart House.

"Make me a steak with...mashed potatoes and make it snappy because I only have 15 minutes to eat."

"Right away."

And within minutes I opened the stove and a juicy steak was waiting. "Aaah, smells good."

I got silverware and took a huge chunk of the steak. "Hey Bot, turn on the TV."

I walked over to the sofa and plopped right onto it. Once the TV turned on it came alive with sound and news of something horrible.

"Today, a part of the fence in the Stray Forrest ripped open therefore allowing many beasts to escape, these beasts were found and due to their large stature, they could not be brought back to the forest and instead had to be burned. " The news reporter stated. "In other news, the fourth annual..." After the first bit of news I tuned out...burned? What will happen if my mom becomes a beast and she escapes the forest, will she be burned? I know these people are no longer human but that doesnt mean we can just kill them, there still might be a cure to change them back.

I placed my steak and coffee on the kitchen counter top, "Bot, clean this up." I raced to get my lab coat and immediately get to work on finding a cure, I dont care how many people have to suffer I have to save my mom. I got in the elevator and waited impatiently as it slowly headed down to my lab.

The doors slid open and I kept thinking to myself, "No mercy, dont bother arguing with the subjects, I dont care anymore, I just have to make sure my mom is cured before its too late." I went over to a cabinet where I kept possible cures and I took out a green vile. I took a syringe and watched as the green liquid went into the needle.

After it was about half full I raced to the testing table where I could see that Subject 122 was still sleeping. I turned the table so the subject would face me and I was about to inject the substance, but I glanced at her face. She was stunning. I looked at the needle and then thought about my mom.

"I have to do this, for my mom." I brought the needle closer to her skin but then I looked at her face again, a strand of hair was covering her eye so I gently brushed it off of her face. My hand tingled with the lingering feeling of her soft hair. I examined her features, her tiny little nose, her multiple freckles, she was gorgeous. But then again, beauty has never stopped me from injecting people before, I've encountered many beautiful women and I've injected them all, of course they turned into beasts, but my point was I've done this many times so why can't I do it now?

I looked at the needle very surely and then poked her skin with the needle, I was about to push the needle in but she sighed and moved around a little. I confusedly looked at the needle and then at her face, and back to the needle and so on. I looked at her face one more time and gave up. I sighed and dropped the needle back in the cabinet. Just as I shut the cabinet I walked back to the testing table and she started to move around restlessly.

She opened one eye hazily and then she fluttered both eyes open revealing a deep, onyx color.

"Hmmm..." She sighed as she tried to stretch but the straps on the table held her down. She squinted and blinked a few times while looking around the room in confusion.

She glanced around the room until her eyes rested on me. She looked me up and down and then looked at the straps that were holding her to the table.

"Hello..." I said as I waved awkwardly.

"Why is it so damn white in here?" She asked as she squinted blindly.

"Its uh-I just..." I stupidly stuttered.

"Where am I?" She asked completely disregarding my foolish stuttering.

"You're in my laboratory." I said proud that I didn't sound like an idiot that time.

"Lab? For what?"

"Well, I'm testing people to find the cure to ATM."

She went from sporting a confused look to one of absolute disgust and hate.

"So, what am I? Just you're test rat? You're sick! Are you going to inject me or did you already do that while I was sleeping?" She asked harshly.

"No, I didnt inject you."

"Why not? Am I not a good enough test rat?" She asked with the same snappy attitude.

Does she want me to inject her or not? I sighed, "No its just that-"

"Just what? I'm too ugly?" She continued.

"Bruno, please take her back to subject living quarters and grab me a subject that's not as blindingly gorgeous." Oh, shit. "I mean...not as loud and annoying!" I said quickly trying to cover up the fact that I just admitted I think shes beautiful.

"What?" She asked as she was being unstrapped from the table and being carried away from the guards.

"What, what?" I said in hopes of confusing her.

"You said im blindingly gorgeous."

"Hmmm, I dont recall saying that."

"You just- nevermind." She said as Bronc took her in the elevator. She looked at me as the elevator doors closed. She seemed perplexed and confused. I waved goodbye, and she just kept on that look of confusion as the elevator went down and she went out of sight.

I leaned on a counter top and processed my thoughts. I heard someone come up the elevator and I assumed it was Bruno with my new test subject. "Just put the new subject on the test table." I said without looking up.

"Sorry, Im not Bruno." I turned around to see Cody.

"Where's Bruno?"

"Well...I was waiting on level 5 for Bruno with Subject 122, but when the elevator arrived Bruno and Courtney, er- I mean Subject 122, werent there."

"What do you mean they weren't there?" I asked with anger and nervousness. Nervousness because if Courtney escaped I may never see her again, and even though she is rather annoying I can't help but be eager for our next encounter.

"I mean they weren't there!" Cody replied.

"Where did they go?"

"I dont know but they have to still be in the building because the exit is STACKED with security guards."

"You stay here and notify me if you see her, I'll explore the other levels." I got in the elevator and explored five of the six levels; subject living quarters, my lab, my office, the lobby and the library. I could not find her, she couldnt have been in the sixth level because that level is only accessible through DNA verification or ID card, plus level six is most guarded area in this building. Anyone that goes down there is subject to immediate exile to the Stray Forest.

I went back to my office seeing that I couldnt find her. I grabbed a hot coffee and looked out onto the barren garden. I looked around it and I did a double take when I saw Bruno and Subject 122. I raced into the elevator and exited on the 3rd floor which was the lobby. I headed toward the garden and upon getting closer I saw Bruno and Subject 122 leaning over a hole of dirt and they were planting seeds.

"Bruno! What are you doing?" I barked.

"Me and Courtney were starting a garden."

"You big idiot, you were supposed to bring her back to her cell!"

"Yeah, but Courtney was very nice to me."

"Stop calling her Courtney, under my building she's called by her number."

"I'm sorry boss."

"If this happens again, you'll be put under severe punishment."

"Lay off, the guy! He just wanted to liven up this creepy place!" Subject 122 yelled.

"You, have no say in this! Now take her to her cell before I do something I'm going to regret."

"Yes, sir." Bronc said as he took 122 back inside.

As 122 passed me she spit on my shoes and hissed at me.

That was the last straw.

"You know what Bruno, instead take her to my lab, me and her have unfinished business."

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**Duncan is so evil and strict! I just realized they kinda switched places Courtney is more laid back and Duncan is SUPER strict. I dont care much for this chappy its just kinda a filler, dont worry Duncan will get nicer because well this is a fanfic and it has to have a happy ending, review! And sorry if theres a lot of errors I was kinda in a rush when I wrote this!**


	3. Axe

**Thanks for the awesome reviews and yes this story will probably be more OC/fanon than canon for those who pointed it out, and I wish this stupid CXDXG love triangle never exsisted...its really annoying...**

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I took out a handercheif and swiftly cleaned her spit off of my shiney black lab shoes. Bronc whispered something in her ear and she hugged him. I was confused by this and I desperatley wanted to know what he said, but I decided to let it go. I watched happily as Bronc handcuffed 122 and took her back inside. I was completely satisfied with myself as I saw her squirm and beg Bronc to let her go. She stopped looking pleadingly at Bronc and turned her glance toward me. Her lips were creased into a stiff straight line and her eyebrows furrowed. That didn't bother me, but my smug look vanished when I saw the complete hatred in her eyes.

Wow, way to piss her off. But why should I care that she doesnt like me, shes a test rat. T-E-S-T R-A-T. Simple as that. But she is a pretty test rat...Gah! Why do I have these annoying conflicted feelings!

I deal with complicated forumlas and measurements EVERY day and those activities have never once hurt my brain. _This_ on the other hand causes my head and heart a lot of trauma. I sat down on the garden bench and rubbed my temples. I heard foot steps but I didnt look up. Someone sat next to me and I could tell from the over-powering scent of Axe deoderant that it was Cody.

"God, Cody, using that much Axe isn't going to attract women." I pointed out.

"Well, testing on a bunch of people, isnt going to attract women either."

"Touché, so what do you want?" I said finally looking at him.

"I know you like Court-I mean 122."

Great, I've made my liking for her so obvious that even Lutenitent Oblivious knows it. "What! Why would you think that?" Cody is afraid of me, so me pretending to be mad will hopefully get him off my back.

"I just-you were-" He stuttered. My plan was working.

"Exactly, you don't have a legitiment reason to think I like her, so don't bring it up again or you'll be in serious trouble." Cody got up to leave but he stopped and faced me.

"I saw the way you looked at her and how you didn't have the heart to inject her." Damn, I hate when nerds get a backbone.

I looked in his eyes, he was saying this genuinley, he wasn't saying this as blackmail, he said it because he cares about me. I sighed, "Sit back down you doof." I said as I patted the seat next to me. He happily skipped back to the seat, proud that I'm actually acknowledging him on a personal level.

"You must really like her, if you're talking to **me **about it." I laughed, I don't think this guy could be anymore likeable.

"Well, you're the closest thing I have to a friend, plus I know you'll always be honest." He glowed with happiness, I really should stay away from him, he's too happy, and its worse that it's contagious.

"You do know she hates you." He pointed out.

I laughed again, "Yeah, I know, now get back to work, your happiness is spreading to me and its annoying."

He got up and before he left he told me, "You can never be too happy and no one ever said being happy is a bad thing."

I pondered on that for a moment, he was right, why am I so against happiness? I'm just a cold robot with no regard for peoples feelings, or other people in general. I don't know how to fix myself but I have a feeling that Cody will be a helpful person in my life.

I got up off the bench and headed back to the lab and saw 122's short brown hair resting on the testing table. Cody left me in a good mood, I think today I'll pity her and send her back to her cell, I was going to let her go anyway.

I walked over to the front of the table and I expected to see 122's lush onyx eyes but I met the eyes that were a faded green. I looked in anger as I saw not 122, but instead a young girl, probably 12 years of age. She started shaking and crying.

"Please dont hurt me, please dont." She had the the same hairstyle as 122 but otherwise she was completely differece in appearence.

"Please, just be quiet, I'm not going to inject you." She sighed a sigh of relief, "Well at least not today." I said the last part more to myslef so as to not freak her out again.

I went over to the phone and called Steve, one of my security gaurds, to take the little girl back to her cell. When I find Bronc, he's so going down. I got in the elevator and headed up to my room.

"Bot, coffee, make it black." I commanded.

"Would you like anything else?" A voice replied.

I looked around the room in confusin and I saw 122 standing in the kitchen. We stayed silent, just staring the other down. My coffee popped up from the counter, interrupting the stare down. 122 grabbed the coffee without taking her glance away from me.

"You had the chance to escape, why didn't you?" I asked trying to break the silence.

She didnt answer but instead chucked the coffee at my head. I ducked and watched as the glass shattered and brown liquid splashed all over the white room.

"There. Now the rooms not as freakishly perfect." She said bitterly.

"Are you going to answer my first question?"

"I thought a snooty scientist like you would already know, this stupid place is full of security gaurds, they wouldnt even let Bronc leave."

"Speaking of the neanderthal, where is Bronc?"

"Im not telling you." She snapped. "He knows you're going to punish him, and you have no heart. A ruthless scientific tyrant is what they all call you."

"Who's they?"

"All of us people- or as you would say test rats down in the place that never sees the sun."

She's rather fiesty, it both angers me and turns me on. "Fine! I'll add in skylights!" I said saracastically.

"You really dont have a heart."

"You dont think I dont know that? Its something I feel like Im stuck with, so you dont have to give me heat about somethig I dont think I can change." I said as I plopped onto the couch.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw her studying me. Trying to decide if I was being fake or genuine. She watched suspiciously at first but then took a seat next to me and held my hand.

"I kind of get how your feeling, when I was younger I was really competitve, I got so bad that all of my friends left me. The only supporters I had were my parents, they were the ones that pushed me to be even more competitive, but eventually I even drove them away. I didnt think I could change, no matter how hard I tried I always ended up wanting and needing to be number one. But one day, I met this one girl, Bridgette, she was the exact opposite of me, she was calm, relaxed and knew how to have fun. She was my best friend and she helped me through a lot."

"One question was she blonde?" I asked nervously.

"Yeah, why?"

"Oh nothing, she just sounded familiar." I said as I shifted uncomfortably.

_

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__"Dude, please dont do this." The surfer boy begged as my security guards were taking his girlfriend up stairs to be tested. "Take me instead!"_

_"Geoff, stop, I'll be fine. I love you." The blonde girl sighed._

_"I love you too, Bridge"_

_"You can stop the mush fest, theres a 40% chance that she'll come back in one piece." I said casually as I took a bite of my apple._

_"What about the other 60%?" The blonde girl asked nervously. I looked at her and then at her boyfriend, and I felt a small tinge in my heart. I saw the fear and sorrow in their eyes and I almost felt bad for them. But I shook it off and headed toward the elevator._

_"You become a beast." I said as I the elvetor shot up to my lab. I put on my lab gloves, filled up the needle with liquid, and this time I truly hoped she would end up okay._

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Of course she turned into a beast, but that was the only time I felt bad about testing on someone and now I feel even worse now that 122 has told me how this girl literally changed her life.

"You okay?" She asked sweetly.

"Yeah fine, so how are you possibly going to be able to change me?"

"Anythings possible as long as you have a friend."

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**Well, I hoped you liked it, my mom was annoying me to get off the computer when I wrote this so sorry for any mistakes! Review!**


	4. Trust, Threats and Respect

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Hola! Idk if anyone still reads this story but I'll still try and update. And TDWT was...WTF is all I have to say, what a fail of a finale. *fingers crossed for a TDWT special like TDDDDI* Also check out Sick Dreams by Lolibarbie, the story and author are freaking amazing :D soooo anyway heres the next chappy:

This chappy is dedicated to my friend Sarah! I hope you'll come back!

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Duncans POV:

When she said she would help me, I searched in her eyes for ulterior motives, but there was nothing. Everything in those deep onyx eyes were honest. "So how exactly do you plan on helping me?"

"Well..." She said as she looked around the room. "We could start by adding some life into this detention center-esque room."She said dramatically.

"What's wrong with my room, it's totally plain and acceptable." I said defensively.

"Like you just said, it's totally plain! Come take a seat." She said as she jumped on the couch, laid on her stomach and bent her knees so part of her legs were in the air. I sat on the other side of the couch and awkwardly faced her. "Dear god, even the way you sit is totally plain, scoot closer!" She said, I slid over slightly and she shook her head. "Come closer."

I slid over more and she sat upright and kept demanding I get closer "Closer! Don't be nervous!" I scooted right next to her and I felt my my heart rush when my arm brushed against hers. "There! Now was that so hard?" She said as she grabbed a notepad and pen off of the coffee table, she crossed her legs and wrote down a few things on the notepad. "so Duncan what's your last name?"

"What does my last name have to do with anything?"

"Just answer the damn question you tight-ass." My mouth dropped. No one ever talked to me like that, I found it strange that her outspoken nature both pissed me off and lit something up in me.

"Fine, Evans."

She jotted down my name on the notepad and then proceeded to ask me a numerous amount of questions; my favorite color, my favorite restaurant and so on. As she wrote down all of the answers I couldn't help but notice how surprisingly girly her hand writing was, she twirled all of the letters and dotted every "i" with a heart. "You have really girly writing."

"Thanks? My friend Bridgette wrote like this and it rubbed off on me, she was in love with this guy Geoff and all she did was blab on and on about him, it got really annoying." I couldn't help but cringe when she said Bridgette and Geoff, I still feel bad about what I did to them. She finished scribbling down facts about me then she rose from the couch, "Okay ready to go?" She asked.

"Ready to go? Go where?"

"Shopping, duh."

"And we're going shopping because...?"

"So we can liven up your room, why else would I ask you all these stupid questions?"

"I dont know, but I can't leave, I have many experiments to conduct, I'm a very busy person and I can't just abandon my studies."

"This is exactly what I'm talking about!" She kneeled next to me and stared right into my eyes. "You said you wanted to change, that you needed help right?" I nodded, too nervous to speak. "Well this is the start, screw your studies! Do something spontaneous just this once. " She looked at me pleadingly and slightly pouted her plump bottom lip.

Dear God, this woman is killing me. How the fuck can I reject her? "Ugh...fine."

"Yes!" She jumped up excitedly and grabbed my hand. It was a simple gesture to her, but I could feel butterfly's having a spazz attack in my stomach. She dragged me to the elevator and we headed down to the lobby level. The elevator was very cramped and I was getting more uncomfortable by the second. I glanced over at Courtney and she looked very nonchalant, why do I like her so much? I've known her for what, 3 days? The elevator finally opened and I was about to handcuff Courtney in case she tried to escape while we were shopping, but she swiftly stopped me.

"Another step to changing is trust, do you trust me?" Her eyes widened and there was this moment where everything stopped, it was just me and her stuck in this moment. It was perfect.

"Um-ur-I...you-" I stuttered. She smiled and I swear her smile almost knocked me out cold. I sighed, "Fine, I trust you, but if you cross me-"

She put a finger over my mouth, "Ah ah, threatening people is another thing you have to change." She said gently.

"Can we just go?"

"Patience is another thing-" I was sick of all of her "do's and dont's" so mid-sentence I picked her up and carried her over my shoulder.

"Hey put me down! Another thing you have to change is respect!" She shouted.

"You tell me another thing I need to change I sear I'll-"

"There you go, threatening me again." She said as she crossed her arms.

"Dear God, this going to be one long shopping trip." I said as I plopped her into my car.

"Ow! I dont need help getting into a car for your information...and what the hell? Your car is-"

"Fucking amazing?" I said as I smirked.

"Yeah..." She said in awe as she touched the leather seats of my bright red Bugatti Veyron.

"Its a million dollar car." I said trying to show off.

She continued to look around the car, "So being evil DOES pay off."

"Ha ha very funny." I said dryly as I rolled my eyes and got in the drivers seat.

"How does someone as boring as you have a car like this?"

"I'm not as boring as you'd think." I smirked at her, turned the key and quickly sped off.

I pulled down the top of the car and slipped on some sun glasses. Courtney stood up and threw her hands in the air. "Whooooooooooooooooooooo!" She screamed into the wind. I was going to tell her safety first, but no way in hell did I want to ruin the moment.

I turned on the radio and the first thing that played was Teenage Dream by Katy Perry.

"Hell yes, this is my jam! _You think I'm pretty without any make-up on_. _You think I'm funny, when I tell the punch line wrong..._" She started to sing.

I looked up at her, her hair flowing in the wind, her hips slowly moving with the music, this was the best time I've had...ever. Now that I think about it, she's 100% right, I _am _uptight and boring. I really should just let loose. I have a feeling though, that opening up won't be a big problem. Something about her makes me feel really comfortable, safe, its rare that I warm up to people. I usually just stay in my own cold, lonely bubble, but with her, I dont really even know. She just radiates with an inviting aura.

"_I know you get me,so I'll let my walls come down, down. Before you met me I was a wreck." _She continued to sing. I couldn't tear my eyes off of her, she was amazing, mesmerizing even. She continued to hum along with the song. Everything was going flawlessly until I heard a few beeps so I glanced at the road and noticed I came inches away from head-on crashing. I swerved to the far right to avoid a collision. 122 was shocked by the abrupt turn and almost fell out of the car but I quickly grabbed her and pulled her back in. She clumsily fell back and her head landed in my lap. I almost doubled over in pain due to the fact her head landed very harshly on "the family jewels".

"Whoa, I think you should drive more carefully." She said teasingly.

"Me? I think you should actually wear a seat belt."

"Touché" She smirked and sat back in her seat. We drove for a few more minutes and I pulled into the nearest furniture store. We unbuckled our seat belts and headed into the store. "Before we start, I have a few rules; you have no input about what you want in you room, and you have to let me spend as much as I need."

"What the hell...I'm not agreeing to those terms. That's ludicrous."

"C'mon Duncan, this isn't just a bunch of furniture, its the start of a new you."

"Where did you get that melodramatic bullshit?" I laughed.

"Yeah ha ha." She said dryly. "But seriously, I swear I'm not going to go spend-crazy, I just need enough stuff to change your room. Remember what I said earlier? About trusting people?" She said beggingly.

I rolled my eyes, I knew she wasn't going to give up so I reluctantly took out my wallet and gave her my credit card. "There you go, and you do know, I'm pretty much setting you up for an easy escape, your not handcuffed, you have my credit card, why don't you just run off?"

"Because, I genuinely want to help you." She said honestly.

It turned into one of those moments again, where it feels like time stopped and its just me and her, no one else.

"Hello, how can I help you two love birds?" A sales-lady said. Way to ruin the moment, idiot.

"Oh, we're not dating." 122 said.

I laughed, "Me and her? Not in a million years!"122 turned and looked at me sourly. I felt a little bad because of course I really didn't mean it, I just have to keep up my 'tough guy' rep.

"Well, okay, regardless, what do you guys need?" The sales-lady asked.

"Everything! His room his awful!"

Now it was **my **turn to give her a sour look. She smirked in satasfaction,I guess she likes to be the one with the last laugh.

"Well, lets just walk around the store and you can pick up whatever you need." The sales-lady replied.

"Sounds good." 122 said, little did I know that furniture shopping was NOT fun.

It felt like we were looking at chairs and bed sheets for days. I almost fell asleep, many times might I add, but 122 kept elbowing me, because she wanted me to "at least see what she was picking out". Eventually, after choosing pretty much everything from pillows to couches, it came down to picking out vases,plants and paintings. I looked at all of the options and they were all hideously ugly. I scanned the options over and over again because its not possible to have that many ugly things in one area. I scanned one more time and stopped when I found this painting that was actually kind of cool. I reached for it and apparently 122 liked it too because she reached for it at the same time as me.

I didn't notice her going for it so when I went to grab it I accidentally bumped her hand with mine. I took my hand back quickly and quietly said, "Oh sorry."

"For what?"

"My hand bumped yours."

She smiled and looked at me quizzically, "Is this the part in movies when you fall for me?" I looked away from her because, even though I didn't think it was possible, I actually started blushing. "It is! Your falling for me!"

"Psh, what? I have no idea what your talking about. I just felt bad, because...I might have squished your hand." I said completely making that up on the spot.

She laughed, "My hand is okay."

"Good, good...where's the check out line?" I said desperately trying to make this moment end. We checked out and that crazy girl ended up spending $540,000. "I hope all of this room-crap is worth it." I said as we headed toward my car.

"And by room-crap I think you mean furniture. And it will be, when the furniture arrives I want you to stay in your lab or where ever so I can work on your room and surprise you. You know Duncan, I thought you were some cold, heartless tyrant, but your a pretty solid guy. In just this one day, I can already see us becoming friends."

"Thanks, that actually means a lot." I said as I sat in the drivers seat. I turned the key and listened to the sweet sound of the ignition starting up. "Now how about this time you try not killing yourself." I said teasingly.

"And how about this time you actually keep your eyes on the road, instead of making googly eyes at me." She said confidently.

"You saw that?" I asked feeling a weird tinge rush all over me.

"Hun, I see everything. Now get a move on it, I'm hungry." I smirked, feisty, confident, smart, is there anything bad about this girl?

When she asked if this was the part in movies when I fall for her, I think she was right. Three hours of furniture shopping, that's all it took for me to start to fall for her.

* * *

**Sorry for updating so late! And dont care much for this chappy its kinda a filler and its really fluffy and the only reason Duncan is so mushy in this story is because in a lot of relationships one person is always more into the relationship and I ALWAYS thought Duncan liked Courtney more but based on TDWT I guess not :\ well anyway please review, reviews are everything to writers! AND the first person to guess which episode of TD this quote comes from will get a shout out!**

**Here it is: Harold: "One of us anyway, some of us were too busy making googly eyes at a certain girl."**

**It's one of my fav quotes so yeah lol  
**


	5. Clap Twice

**Congrats to Princess Absahail for getting the quote right! And so sorry for not updating in awhile! And a reminder that 122 is Courtney, and I just finished reading Pride and Prejudice and saw Beastly so I'm VERY sorry if there are very cheesy moments.**

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After our long trip of shopping I bid 122 an adieu and had one of my guards take her back to her cell. I headed up to my room and immediately asked for a coffee. I hung my jacket up on the coat hanger and plopped onto the couch. As my coffee arrived Cody walked in, "Yes Cody?"

He looked at his feet and started to play with his thumbs, "Ummmmmm..."

"What?"

Cody looked around nervously and it made me twice as nervous because nervous Cody is the worst type of Cody. "Well...Duncan...I..."

"Yes?"

"Hmmm, you know how...er...I, uh hmmm..."

"For Christs sake, spit it out!"

"Your mom isn't doing well." He finally said.

My heart dropped down into the very pit of my stomach. "How bad is she?" I asked almost inaudibly.

"Not so good, she's in critical condition. They're pumping in all the medication possible."

"Can I see her?"

"I already asked, they said they can't have any interruptions, they need to stay completely focused on her."

I didn't say anything, I just looked down and stayed silent.

"Umm boss?"

"Get me a test subject." I said.

"What?"

"You heard me. Get me a test subject same age as my mother."

"But boss, you were-" Cody started, I knew he was going to mention how I've been nicer lately.

"I was nothing. At the end of the day I'm still a scientist and people are still my test rats, get me a new subject or _you _will be the subject." I said surely.

"Okay, okay. The subject will be ready in a few minutes." Cody said as he headed down the elevator, but before the doors closed he looked me in the eye and said, "You know, for a moment I thought you actually had a heart."

I wanted to mock him, but it was true, but my mother was too important to me, she was my everything, without her I have nothing. I headed down to my lab and slipped on my lab coat. I got the testing substance from the cabinet and as I headed to the table I didn't bother speaking or looking at the test subject, damn 122 made me feel things such as 'guilt' or 'sadness'. Really the only reason I felt bad was because I was so afraid of losing my mother yet I was taking away someone elses, dramatic irony for you.

When I got to the table I looked away and blindly injected the substance. I reached over for my clipboard so I could take notes on her reaction. When I finally gained the guts to look at her I saw she looked at lot like my mother and she was staring at me softly. No trace of angry or hatred in her eyes which is weird because _everyone _I test on hates me.

"Why don't you look angry?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Because, it's all for a cause isn't it? There's no point fighting you anyway, the deed is done." She said gently. She _really _reminded me of my mother now, fair, non-judgmental. I glanced at her softly and walked over to her to gently grab her hand.

"Well, I'm glad you feel that way, plus it looks like it had no effect on you so you'll be fin-" And interrupting the seemingly happy note, she started shaking violently. I called in the guards to take her away and whispered sorry before I let go of her hand. I intently watched her get carried away and I genuinely felt bad. I ran my hands through my hair and let out an aggravated sigh, how can I keep testing on people if I feel like trash every time? I chucked my clipboard at the wall annoyed of my failure.

I paced around the room a bit before writing down the results of this test on the result board. I then headed to the elevator hopefully just to relax and sleep the day off.

I threw my lab coat off not really aiming for the coat rack and just collapsed on the bed. I clapped twice to turn off the lights and I was knocked out in seconds.

:::::::::::::::::::

It was truly the worst night ever, I was haunted by nightmares of the poor woman and my mother, of course. Even though I know I overslept I couldn't get myself to open my eyes. I just wanted to lay there, the giant heartless dick who everyone hates. The only thing that woke me was the sound of someone elses steady breaths hitting my ear.

When I opened my eyes I saw a marvel really. My room was already completely refurnished and it reminded me of my room as a kid. The room had splashes of red and blue every once in awhile, but not in a patriotic sense. 122 was standing over me with a huge smile and she yelled, "Surprise!"

"Wow, its...how did you do this so fast?"

"The furniture place is like 10 blocks away...and I may have paid a large sum of money for super-speedy delivery." She said playfully.

"Really, 122, its amazi-wait how did you even get out of your cell?"

"I have my ways." She said as if it was nothing.

"Note to self; get better security." We both laughed slightly. I walked around the room and stopped when I saw a family picture laying on the night stand. "How did you get this?" I said in pure shock.

"Cody got it for me, I thought it would personalize the space a bit."

My heart tinged slightly, these few days have been emotional for Duncan, I don't like it. I walked over to her and I really just wanted to embrace her as tightly as possible but given we've only known each other for maybe four days I settled for squeezing her hands gently and looking at her with more affection than I've given anyone. "Thank you. I can't even describe this space."

"Yeah, well it was nothing...plus you paid for everything." She said with a small chuckle.

I laughed slightly too, but then it hit me like a train. The reality of what I did yesterday. I just turned some poor defenseless woman into a Beast yesterday. If 122 found out, she would...I don't know, but she definitely wouldn't approve considering our whole shopping day was meant to reform me.

She noticed the slight change in my mood and said, "I was just kidding about the 'you paid for everything' comment, I mean you did pay for everything but-"

"No no, it's not that, it's just that I think I...left Cody locked in the storage room all night, poor guy." Not the best lie I've come up with.

She laughed, half-relieved, half-genuinely laughing. "Want me to come with you to go get him?"

"NO!" She was startled by my yell for a response. "I mean...if you want to, it'll probably be boring though."

"Boring? Are you kidding? You leave us locked up in white cells all day, I think I can handle a walk to get Cody." She said already heading to the elevator.

"Okay...then..." I said calmly, even though I was panicking on the inside, searching desperately for a reason as to why Cody won't really be locked in the storage room.

Once I got in the elevator she ran her finger lightly over the buttons, "Which floor?"

"4"

"So level 1 is your room, 2 is the lab, 3 is the lobby, 4 is storage, 5 is subject living quarters, what is 6?"

"4 actually has two wings; the library and storage." I said trying to get around the subject of the sixth floor.

But I should've have known 122 would be relentless. "Oh okay, but then what's 6?"

I paused when luckily the elevator bell rang, "Oh look we're here!" I ran the hell out of that elevator.

"Why won't you tell me what level 6 is?"

"A scientists got to have his secrets." I said as I speed walked to the storage room.

"Yeah but scientist secrets aren't normal, scientists are mad so their secrets must be too."

"Yeah whatever." I said hoping it would die down. Although she was right, the sixth floor was where I kept all of the subjects that turned into Beasts. Why I kept them? I use them to see if their results can be reversed. Sure the quality of living down there sucks, overcrowding, decaying Beasts, starvation but hey, what she doesn't know won't kill her.

When we finally arrived at the storage room door I already prepared my excuse _'Ohhh, I must have dreamt it.' _Surely she'll believe that. I unlocked the door and started saying "Ohhhh" but I was cut off when I _actually_ saw Cody sitting in the storage room. He was tied up with tape over his mouth. "What the hell man?" I grabbed a knife from one of the drawers and cut off the ropes around his ankles and hands.

"Why did you lock him in the closest _and_ tie him up?" 122 asked.

"I didn't tie him up OR leave him in the closet I just made that up!"

"Then why is he here?"

"I, I really don't know." I ripped the tape off of Cody's mouth quickly and the very first thing he said was: "Mother ffff-, ever heard of ripping it off slowly!" He complained as he gently felt the pink flesh around his mouth.

"Cody, man-up, and tell me what the hell you were doing in here!" I said past confusion and settling into 'he's probably here because he's Cody and Cody can be very idiotic sometimes'.

"He said-"

"Who's he?" I asked.

"I was getting to that." Cody said as he rubbed the sore areas around where the ropes were tied, "He-a subject- said you better watch out."

"For what?"

"Just to watch your back. Someone is out to get you."

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**To be completely honest I had NO idea what to do. I know what I plan on putting afterward but I didn't know how to build up to it plus I'm in the middle of Catching Fire in the Hunger Games (amazing book/series that everyone should read btw) and they keep mentioning revenge/revolt etc so I kind of stole from that but regardless please review and thanks for reading! Also sorry this chappy is kind of long, it's more of a filler.  
**


	6. Enchantment

**Sorry for the late update and reminder that 122 is Courtney :)**

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"Oooh someone is out to get me, I'm _sooooooo_ scared!" I said making sure to drench the sentence with sarcasm.

"I don't know Duncan, I think you should be careful, I mean you test on people, that's bound to make somebody pissed." 122 said.

"I don't know Duncan, I think you should be careful I mean you test on people, blah blah blah." I mimicked in a girly voice, in response 122 sent a sharp elbow to my ribs. I helped Cody out of the closet and he dusted himself off.

"Really Duncan, you should listen to her, this guy is legit. He definitely kicked my ass." Cody added.

"No offense, but Cody look at you. A bunny could kick your ass."

"Glad to know what you think of me." Cody responded dryly. At least he didn't look hurt this time, usually he's on the verge of crying when I insult him.

"Now lets get out of here, I have work to do."

"Are you still testing on people? I swear, if you don't stop soon-" 122 started to nag.

"I will have you put in a straight-jacket so you stop escaping from your cell. Don't worry, I'm not testing on anybody...yet." Another elbow to the ribs. "Stop that, I'm going to get a bruised rib."

"Better a bruised rub, than a scientist testing on you." 122 said, I wasn't sure if she meant that lightly.

We all walked into the elevator and the topic of the 6th floor popped up again. "Cody, whats in the 6th floor? Duncan won't tell me."

I tensed up, that idiot better not say anything. "Actually, I honestly don't know. It's a very restricted place. Duncan won't tell me whats there either." Phew, I forgot that I decided not to tell blabber-mouth Cody whats down there.

"You might as well give up, Cody has. I will never tell anyone besides the people that work there, what's down there."

"Ooooh, you just sparked back my interest in that level! What do you say Courtney, you and me team up to find out whats down there?" Cody suggested.

"Good plan." 122 responded.

"Bad plan, I swear if either of you try to go down there I will-"

"Put me in a straight jacket I know I know!" 122 replied jokingly.

"No, I'm very serious-"

"Uh-huh right." She replied sarcastically.

"Really, 122-"

"Right, right, uh-huh, right."

"Shut up! I'm dead serious about this," I said strictly. I looked them both sternly,"If either of you even attempt to get down there, I will cut out your tongues so you can never tell a soul about what lives there."

Dead silence. Okay maybe that was a _tad _drastic. I just wanted them to know this was a real problem, I didn't want to scare them shitless.

"Okay, maybe I won't cut your tongues out, but there will be consequences." I said with a cooler tone.

"I know I'm never going down there now, or looking at you the wrong way ever again heh...heh..." Cody said to try and lighten the mood, but he was obviously still freaked.

I glanced over at 122, she wasn't scared, she was actually smirking. That mischievous, plotting smirk. "What are you thinking about?" I eyed her suspiciously.

"Ohh, nothing. I just don't want my tongue cut out is all." She said with scheme heavily lining her tone. She stepped off of the elevator and smirked as she eyed me with a glint of mischief. The elevator door closed as I saw her look away and strut off back to her cell.

"I hate to say it, because I'm deathly afraid of you, but she is SO planning on going to the 6th floor." Cody added.

"I know...we have to keep a close eye on her...but damn man, I gotta admit that was hot. Defiance, she definitely knows how to toy with me."

"Ummm, so you like her?" Fuck, I didn't know I said the "hot" part out loud.

"Pssshhhh, no I don't like her!"

"Uh-huh right."

"Stop that, we don't need to relive that elevator scene again, do we?"

"No, no! Oh, look it's my stop!" Cody said running out.

At least I know he'll be loyal to me, not necessarily because he likes me but because he's terrified of me. Respect through fear is the way to go..

I waited until the elevator reached my floor and I was instantly greeted by 122. "What took you so long slow poke?" She said while flipping through a magazine.

"How did you even...you were just...never mind. What do you want?"

"I'm bored lets do something fun."

"Like...?"

"Like...I don't know, what do you do for fun?"

"Test on people."

"No really."

"I don't know, I don't have time for fun."

"Okay, half of the time you just sit here drinking coffee, you have PLENTY of time for fun." She said.

"I don't know, what do you think is fun?"

She smiled wide and reached for my hand, "C'mon, I'll show you." She dragged me toward the elevator taking me who knows where.

* * *

She took me out to the garden and she decided that to make this place less "drab" we had to plant lots of exotic flowers. We rushed over to the the nearest botany store and she snagged at least three shopping carts full of stuff.

It was expensive, but according to her, it was "toooooootally worth it."

When we finally got back I wanted nothing more than to sleep, but she forced me and 10 of my security guards to start planting, "this garden HAS to be done by the end of the day." She stated at least 40 times.

After I dismissed the security guards it was just me and her. We leaned over one area trying to plant the last of the seeds that we bought.

"You know the balsam flower is said to represent passionate love." She said, glancing up at me and carefully passing the "love" seeds over to me. And yes we did have that cheesy moment when our hands met and lingered there just a little too long.

I glanced back at her, "Does it really?" It was only now when I noticed how very close her face was to mine. I watched as a trickle of sweat dripped from her brow and me wanting suck up every ounce of this moment, gently brushed it off her as it reached her cheek.

She blushed slightly and turned away, "Oh dear, I probably look really attractive right now; frizzy hair, no make-up, and sweating like a pig."

"You have never looked more lovely." I smiled at her. Okay, that was a total lie, but I'm not ruining this moment. She elbowed me again, but it was playful this time.

"Shut up you liar." She smiled. She reached over and grabbed the last batch of seeds, she held it up in front of her face and said, "But I bet you also didn't know that the marigold represents pain and grief. So we have passionate love that is troubled by pain and grief. Oh how tragic!" She jokingly said as she dramatically placed her hand over her heart.

She tossed the marigold seeds off to the side. "What shall we do? Our love is destined for misery!" She continued the dramatic schtick.

What the hell, might as well play along. I looked over my shoulder to make sure no one could see us, I like her but I'm not about to embarrass myself with all this cheesy role play. The coast was clear. "Well, I think we should enjoy the passionate part while we still can!" I picked her up bridal style and started to walk back toward the building.

She laughed, "Okay Duncan, this is really weird now, we can stop."

"Shhhhh, my love, words aren't necessary." She smiled and rolled her eyes. "Off we go-whoa!" I tripped on one of the planting beds and we both were sent flying toward the ground.

We made a loud thud when we hit the ground and I landed in kind of a push up position with her face directly below mine. She was cracking up, "Real smooth."

I would have laughed too, but for me, the jokey mood ended. When I saw the way wisps of her hair were gracefully laid around her face and how the corner of her eyes wrinkled when she laughed, I couldn't hide that I was captivated.

I was completely taken with her. I brushed a piece of her hair away from her face and that is when she too noticed the mood change. She gazed up at me her large onyx eyes being fully absorbed by my teal ones.

"Ummm, Duncan?" Called a timid voice from afar. I didn't dare break the trance.

"Duncan, I hate to interrupt but it's important. " Called the voice again. I took these last moments to etch this moment in my head. The shadows cast on her face, the way her hair was messily spread on the ground. I blinked, capturing the moment for the last time and I looked up to see Cody in the doorway of the building.

He beckoned me over and walked into the building. I looked back down, but she was gone. I don't know how, but she was. I sighed heavily, got up and dusted myself off. I headed back into the building but when I got into the doorway I turned back and looked at the garden, a beautiful moment, a missed opportunity, and hopefully the last, because next time I see her, well, I'm not missing another opportunity.

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**So sorry that that was really cheesy but I can't really help it so please review and thanks for reading!**


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